Singapore, Indonesia apply to ICAO for approval on airspace realignment

Under the agreement, Indonesia will delegate the provision of air navigation services to Singapore for 25 years.

Tham Yuen-C

Tham Yuen-C

The Straits Times

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Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (right) with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at a joint press conference during the Singapore-Indonesia Leaders' Retreat on March 16. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

March 17, 2023

SINGAPORE – Singapore and Indonesia have jointly applied to the international body overseeing airspace management to approve the realigning of both countries’ flight boundaries.

This comes a year after the two countries concluded an agreement that provides for the boundary between the Singapore and Jakarta flight information regions (FIRs) to be realigned to be generally in accordance with Indonesia’s territorial boundaries.

Under this agreement, Indonesia will also delegate the provision of air navigation services for a part of this realigned airspace to Singapore for 25 years.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday that both countries last week applied for approval from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for the new arrangements.

He was speaking at a joint press conference at the Istana alongside Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is in Singapore for the Singapore-Indonesia Leaders’ Retreat.

The agreement on airspace management, along with an agreement on defence cooperation and another on the extradition of fugitives, was concluded in 2022 when the leaders met in Bintan. The three agreements collectively come under an expanded framework between the two countries.

PM Lee said he was happy that both sides have ratified all three agreements, adding that Singapore and Indonesia “have come a long way to get here”.

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